Taxpayers foot bill for others' gas

DECATUR - Bennie Conley gave out his first gallon of gasoline less than an hour into his afternoon shift.

"I didn't get one this early yesterday," Conley said as he helped another driver stranded without fuel alongside Interstate 285 east of Atlanta.

Conley works for the state Department of Transportation as a HERO or Highway Emergency Response Operator.

With gasoline in many parts of the Atlanta area topping $4 a gallon, the DOT roadside assistance crews are seeing a spike in the number of motorists who run out of fuel.

"The majority of them probably figured they could make it to an exit," Conley said. "Due to the traffic volume when they chose to get on the highway, it just wasn't possible."

A five-gallon canister used to last Conley's entire eight-hour shift. Now, he fills up the tank once - and sometimes twice - a day.

On a recent afternoon, Conley gave fuel to about one stranded motorist per hour. Each motorist gets about a gallon or two; just enough to get them to the nearest filling station.

"It's not uncommon for me to run into people who ask for more," Conley said. "That's not possible."

Because taxpayers foot the bill for the fuel Conley and the other crews give out for free, the surge in stalls is taking its toll, according to DOT communications specialist Monica Luck.

"You've got a five-gallon gas container, it used to be you could take $5 and fill that up," Luck said. "Now, we're having to spend $20 a can."

In Georgia, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.95, slightly less than the national average of $3.98, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Conley acknowledges some drivers try to take advantage of the system, but he records the license plate number of every driver he assists to help weed out those taking more than their share.

Conley and the other operators also are under orders to insure their supply of gasoline is locked up when they are not near their vehicles.

During his shift, Conley also responded to a crash that blocked two lanes of the busy interstate, gave a push to a motorist whose car broke down in the center lane and dragged an errant ladder that fell from a construction truck to the side of the road.

The increased demand for emergency fuel can keep him from quickly responding to more serious issues, Conley said.

"That's part of the problem, because it might put me out of position to get here as quickly as I did," he said after giving an ice pack to a motorist who was slightly injured in the wreck.

But for motorists like Yurobia Carter, who ran dry on his way home from summer school, Conley's big, neon yellow truck is a welcome sight. Carter admitted he delayed filling his tank because of high gas prices and was surprised when Conley helped him out for free.